In the field of firefighting, wilderness firefighting tactics can be broken down into two main groups; fire aviation and ground crews. Ground crews are effective at structure protection and creating fire lines, but have limited effect on fully developed, quick moving fires. Another consideration is that ground crews face a strenuous and dangerous task. Wildfires can quickly change direction and speed, subjecting ground crews to the extreme dangers of being cut-off or overrun. Fire aviation, consisting primarily of slurry bombers and heli-tankers, is extremely effective at suppressing fully developed fires over large and difficult to access areas. However, the equipment employed is expensive, difficult and costly to maintain, and has limited effect at night or under adverse weather conditions.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.
An object of the present invention is to provide an unmanned aerial firefighting system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a firefighting system which will be effective at fire suppression while increasing safety and lowering costs.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an aerial firefighting system which will be effective at night and under adverse conditions.